-Press Release, Office of District Attorney Mike Waters

Warrenton, NC – Warren County Criminal Superior Trial Court was held during the week of April 30, 2018. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Henry W. Hight, Jr. presided over the term. The State of North Carolina was represented by District Attorney Mike Waters and Assistant District Attorney Onica Fuller.

Much of the week was devoted to the murder trial of Kadeem Grooms, who, along with Marquis Davis, Montrell Davis and Darren Alston, was charged with First Degree Murder, five counts of Attempted Murder, two counts of Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle and one count of Assault with a Deadly Weapon with the Intent to Kill.

The acts occurred in the early morning hours of August 9, 2015, when six men from Oxford traveled to the Connect 25 nightclub in Warren County. As the six men were leaving Connect 25, they were fired upon. Michael Pressley, a passenger in one of the vehicles, was shot and died as a result of his wounds.

A Warren County jury deliberated approximately 70 minutes before returning guilty verdicts on all counts. Judge Hight sentenced Mr. Grooms to life in prison without parole for the First Degree Murder conviction, plus 70 years for the other offenses. Darren Alston and Montrell Davis had previously plead in the matter. Marquis Davis is scheduled for trial during the September trial term of Warren County Superior Court and is innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This matter was investigated by the Warren County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.